Games that didn't survive first contact. . .

[Dykstrav]

I had similarly bad experiences when talking with Vampire players, btw. All they ever talked about was what kind of incredible powerhouse characters they had. Sometimes a bit of intrigue might be involved but never the slightest indication of the tragic side of being a vampire. Everyone seemed to enjoy being a blood-sucking monster.

Oh yes, LARP games especially seemed to be particularly rife with players that didn't like dealing with the tragic side of being a vampire. Chances are, you can tell if you're going to enjoy playing with a Vampire LARPer with a single question: ask them to describe their character. I can't count how many times I've done that only to hear something like, "Oh, my dude has Iron Will so he can ignore Dominate, and I've got intermediate Fortitude." My own longest-running LARP character was designed as a classic tragic hero: he was the last scion of an old-money family that was dying out, and when he became a vampire, any chances of renewing his family's strength and vitality were gone (although he could still accumulate wealth and temporal power, of course). Two of the storytellers told me that my character background was "depressing."

It's particularly frustrating in LARP because some people are just so dense that they actually try to have entire conversations as a social challenge. "I defend myself against the Prince's accusations with a social challenge. C'mon guys, it's in the rules, if I can beat the Prince in a social challenge you have to believe me."

Regarding Wraith - I fell in love with the rpg immediately but I also knew immediately I'd never find players who'd 'get it'. Plus, I'd rather play it than GM it.

As I've said before, Wraith is one of my favorite games ever. It does require skilled players who enjoy the concepts though. The game literally revolves around ghosts dealing with their psychological baggage from life. I think that a big part of it is that players don't necessarily enjoy getting their characters screwed over, which is at least half of what goes on in any given Wraith chronicle. It's moody, bleak, and can be very depressing when done "right." It usually takes me about six months to get a Wraith chronicle off the ground, but when it does, it's totally worth it.

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

The Riddle of Steel

Great combat options! Nothing else! Magic was absolutely terrible...

One of the only RPG purchases I ever returned.

"So...the optimal playstyle is a bunch of thieves who sneak into someone's house while they're asleep and cut their throats, because you'll die in any face to face combat. Okay then."

Others...I didn't like playing V:tM at all. "So, I eat people to live. O-kay, then, Werewolf it is..."

The old Chameleon Eclectic Babylon Project RPG. I still don't know how to make a character. I'd look it up, but I sold the book to a used bookstore. Last time I went down there it was still there.

Brad

 

[Mercule]

Regarding Wraith - I fell in love with the rpg immediately but I also knew immediately I'd never find players who'd 'get it'. Plus, I'd rather play it than GM it.

This. Actually, I'd have just as much fun GMing it. But, I don't think I've ever had a group with more than one "self-starter" in it. Too many times, I've had none.

 

[Ulrick]

Chivalry and Sorcery: For sometime a friend of mime wanted to play C&S. He had all the books--and said that's bonus because they aren't making anymore, unlike d20. He hated d20 and played 3e only a few times. I looked through his books and thought the game was more about creating a simulation of medieval life than actually gaming. "I want more reality in my fantasy," my friend would say.

On the whole, Chivalry and Sorcery seemed incredibly pretentious. In the Gamemaster's guide they gave an example of what happens to player characters who act like characters in "a certain other game" (D&D). Their characters end up being hung from a tree and the players never come back.

But despite all this, myself and a couple other friends decided to give C&S a shot--even if just to placate my friend. So we role up characters. Everything was random. You can roll up a king all the way down to a peasant. I rolled up a peasant archer with butterfingers.

The archer had like a -15% skill with the bow. Which apparently also increased his chance of fumbling and hurting himself. "Why would I be an archer?" I asked my friend. "Why would anybody let this guy near a bow?"

"Oh, its handicap you can overcome." My friend said.

"Can I re-roll his flaw?" My friend said no. I asked again. He still said no.

"Part of good roleplaying is being able to overcome a handicap," he said. "I'm sure you'll find a solution."

"I don't feel like overcoming a handicap," I said. "I don't want to play a crappy character. My solution is that I'm not going to play."

The other people in the group, having similar things happen to their characters, decided not to play as well. Much to the chagrin of my friend.

We never said Chivalry and Sorcery again. And that's all right with me.

 

[TarionzCousin]

Hol: But that was because I am quite certain the game wasn't MEANT to actually be played. Stupid gaming parody made up to look like a runnable system.

I'm shocked that anyone in the entire universe actually attempted to play this "game." You should win an award or something.

For me: Rolemaster, Hackmaster, Star Wars d6, Champions (eventually).

 

[JeffB]

Chivalry and Sorcery:..snipped a bunch of good stuff.........

No doubt C&S is a VERY different game, and the mechanics are wonky, but I personally agree with your GM. For me, playing those kinds of oddball characters is super fun and I would have been all over that fumbling peasant archer like a fly on horse

One thing I don't really care for is the modern gaming/gamer mindset of " my character has to be great". No the rejects don't usually last long, but they are gobs of fun to play if you roll with it (no pun intended). And once in awhile they do survive and overcome the odds

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Playing a gimped PC is fun...if you actually don't mind or intend to play some form of a gimped PC.

For something like the butterfingers archer, I think I could have fun with it- think of it like Mr. Magoo with a 357 Magnum. Or someone who is simply reckless with his shot selection and doesn't care exactly who is in front of his bow.

Perhaps he simply believes himself to be "The Man," when in reality he is something much less. I can almost hear him muttering to himself as he launches a shot high, missing the evil knight and wounding a priest praying for him 20 yards behind his intended targed.

It would require a bit of cooperation with the GM, of course, so that you're not merely a random damage generator and actually an effective PC, but it could still be a blast...

IF

your image of an archer wasn't Robin Hood or the like.

 

[Subversive]

I'm curious if anyone here ever played Jovian Chronicles. This is one that I picked up at my comic shop, and *loved* the idea for, but never found anyone to play with ever. It seemed like such a cool concept for a game setting; a lot like Robotech or Gundam but not... you know...

Palladium...

-Steve

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Isn't that the one that had the minis from Dreampod 9?

If so, then no...but I have a LOT of the minis!

But for the odd game of RIFTS, I've only played with one GM who really loved roleplaying in a world of mechas- a Marine named Marlin down in Austin (also heavily into SCA). Under his GMship, we tried Mechwarrior/Battletech, Mekton and several other mecha based RPGs.

Personally, I liked them all...but none of them ever seemed up to his standards. (Or perhaps he didn't care for the reactions of the other players. I don't know...)

 

[Vocenoctum]

No doubt C&S is a VERY different game, and the mechanics are wonky, but I personally agree with your GM. For me, playing those kinds of oddball characters is super fun and I would have been all over that fumbling peasant archer like a fly on horse

One thing I don't really care for is the modern gaming/gamer mindset of " my character has to be great". No the rejects don't usually last long, but they are gobs of fun to play if you roll with it (no pun intended). And once in awhile they do survive and overcome the odds

I think there's a happy medium between the two points you paint though. Like the other poster, I wouldn't want an archer that couldn't shoot. Why would he become an archer?

Now, a character with a bad leg that became an archer because of his inability to maneuver in combat, that's fine. An archer that can't pick up a bow is just a running joke.